Sunday, January 8, 2017

A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune)

Though
only 14 minutes in length, this movie was long compared to the usual
2-minute films of the time. Its special effects were also new and
impressive, and it is considered the first true science fiction film.

I
had this movie on a DVD called Landmarks of Early Film, and it included
the narration (which was written to be read alongside the movie, but
which apparently has often been left out). I'm glad I had that, because
it made it possible to understand what was actually going on. The result
was an enjoyable 14 minutes. The effects were actually pretty cool, and
the plot had me laughing, particularly when the humans and
easily-destroyed Selenites just automatically started fighting each
other (no Star Trek-style first contact attempts here).